CHAPTER 17

I tugged on the leather reins, willing my mount to slow to a stop. Ahead of me, parting though thick winter mist, was a haunting shard of ice and stone. The last I’d seen Imeria Castle was from the edge of the village of Berrow. From a distance, it had looked big, but with it before me, I couldn’t fathom its sheer size. It speared skyward, stabbing through grey clouds, an imposing monstrosity that represented the family that died inside of it.

I could hardly believe that a place like this could ever exist.

Streams of frozen winds slashed across the many turrets. It danced cautiously around the castle’s edge as though even the elements feared the building. Icicles, far larger than me, hung from beneath balconies like pointed teeth. It wasn’t a place of warmth and life. From the outside, I could feel just how vacant the place was. Even the cobbled stone road which led us here was buried in inches of snow and treacherous black ice.

“Are you sure they are inside?” Duncan asked from beside me.

“I am,” I replied, my breath forming in a cloud of mist beyond my lips.

Imeria Castle had been crafted upon the face of a mountain. Harsh, raw rock mixed seamlessly with white polished stone that enticed natural light and refracted it in a myriad of hues and colours.

My neck strained as I looked up its entire length. I cast a hand over my eyes to block out the light. There was no knowing where the castle stopped as its tip was concealed among the heavyset clouds.

I could just about make out the dark stone which crowned the furthest northern spire. The obsidian spike’s never-ending surface reminded me of the lake between the Icethorn and Cedarfall Courts. The Sleeping Death, as Erix had once explained. A body of water that seemed more like a realm of pure darkness.

Erix had been on my mind a lot today. There was nothing I could do to rid myself of his memory. And for the first time, I didn’t want to either.

“No wonder you gave it away,” Rafaela commented from her mount, a stained brown stag with two oversized antlers that dripped with icicles that were not there when we had left the encampment earlier. “It’s not exactly a welcoming place. Perhaps your acquaintances left the moment they arrived. Anyone with sense would know this is no place to call home.”

At least the Nephilim shared in the same feeling as I did.

“Oh, no, Seraphine is here,” I replied, leather gloves squeaking as I gripped tighter on the reins. There was a small part of me that wished to remind Rafaela that Imeria had been a home once before. But I felt the need to advocate for the place was counterintuitive. I’d given it away, I couldn’t start regretting that decision now. “Compared to the hovels the Asps had been previously living within, Imeria is the pinnacle of luxury for them.”

There was the soft patter of hooves upon the snow. To my left, Duncan rode forward on his black steed. He chose the horse over the stag, commenting on how his thighs wouldn’t feel so offended if he rode on something he was already used to.

“I think it’s the second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Duncan gazed up at the castle through the shadows of his hood. It was drawn low enough to cover his eyes but did nothing to conceal the purse of his lips. They revealed exactly what he felt as he looked upon the castle.

“What’s the first?” I asked.

He shot me a look, one that already told me I knew the answer before he said it. “You.”

Before Rafaela could comment, not that she would, Duncan made another point. “Forgive me for admitting this, darling, but I can see why Althea is royally fucked off with you.”

“Comforting,” I replied.

Even now, miles away from Althea, I could still imagine the steam of smoke that’d poured from her ears when I told her my truth. I couldn’t have hidden it from her any longer, not when she asked why we were not all going to Imeria together. Her face bloomed a deep scarlet when I explained the reason. Seeing her reaction was exactly why I hadn’t told her the price I paid for the Asps’ help.

Which was equally why I didn’t tell her the price I was about to pay, requesting their aid once again.

“So, this is what your ancestors did with the power gifted to you by Altar,” Rafaela said, kicking her heels into her stag’s side to urge it onward. “You crafted shrines for yourselves and titled yourselves as kings and queens. Unsurprising.”

“Need I remind you I didn’t ask for any of this?” I spat, my attitude as sore as my backside was in the saddle.

“Nor did Gabrial.” Rafaela glared forward as she spoke. Her golden hammer had been strapped vertically down her back, laid perfectly between her snow-coated wings. Even with the weight on her back, and the added pressure left on her shoulders since the murder of her companion, Rafaela still kept rigid and straight-backed.

“Let’s get inside, shall we? If we are lucky, Seraphine will have something to warm our stomachs,” Duncan announced, hand resting on his abdomen.

“I think we will be lucky if they even let us inside,” I grumbled, announcing my trepidation.

“Regardless of your contract with the assassins,” Rafaela added, her determination burning around her skin like a halo of heat. “This is your home. Your land. They can open the door willingly, or we will be forced to break it down.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t get to that,” Duncan added.

I looked at him, scanning the glint in his eyes, hoping to read his emotion. “Do you think I’ve made a mistake coming back here for them?”

Duncan hesitated long enough for my stomach to drop. “I will always support your decisions.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I replied. “If someone in our circle killed Gabrial and has done something to Lucari, then the Asps are the ones with the power to wait in the shadows and find them.”

That wasn’t the only reason we’d come. Retired or not, I had to hope Seraphine still had Asps in every corner of every court – including Elmdew, where Aldrick currently resided.

“It is not me you need to convince, Robin.” Duncan pursed his lips and turned back to the castle.

“Then why does it feel like I do?” I knocked my heels into the stag’s side and began following Rafaela. She’d already trotted toward the half-raised gates at the end of the path. I didn’t blame her for wanting to get away. Hearing us squabble was not what she would have wanted to hear, not after what had happened early that morning with Gabrial.

“We are not done talking,” Duncan said, grunting as he put his horse in chase.

“Since this visit was one of the only things Kayne has ever agreed with me on, I would’ve thought that automatically gained your seal of approval, Duncan.”

“Lucari is missing. Of course Kayne is going to want you to do anything to find out what has happened to her.”

“And what of Gabrial?”

He didn’t reply. I didn’t need to look over my shoulder to know that Duncan’s lips were left parted but soundless. There was a part of me that wanted to dismount and continue this argument. But then I would have to face the root of this problem. My vulnerability drove this wedge between us. I understood that. Which is what kept me trotting forward, biting down hard on my tongue.

Running from my insecurities was far easier than facing them.

“Have you come all this way to claim Imeria back from us?” Seraphine asked from her seat upon a silver-coated throne. My mother’s throne – my throne. “Because I could have saved you a journey if that is the case. I thought you were a man of your word, Robin.”

The assassin was laid across it, legs kicking over one arm as she leaned back on the opposite. Her posture screamed disrespect. I glanced at her muddied boot, smudging dirt across the pristine leather of the chair’s arm. I wondered if her playful chuckle was offered because she gloated at the scowl her actions painted across my face.

From the moment we’d dismounted and entered Imeria, greeted by the assassins who melted from the shadows, I was furious. The emotion was misplaced, but I couldn’t dampen it.

“My word is my bond,” I replied, voice echoing across the towering, empty room. “This is not my home, not now, not before.”

“Then do you care to tell me what it is you want? I can see the request haunting those pretty black eyes of yours. Telling like the glare of a magpie. You need something from me.” Seraphine swung her legs over and slammed her boots to the ground. The Asp leaned forward, resting elbows on her thighs and placing her head in both hands. “Which is strange because you, of all people, know that we have retired – as per your own request. We’ve shed the skin of the Asps and now live humbly in our new home.”

“A home that will be destroyed the moment the Defiler is freed,” Rafaela shouted, wings flinching with the urge to spread and demand the space as her own. Her grip on her hammer hadn’t wavered from the moment we stood before Seraphine.

“Which is exactly why I have permitted your entrance. Retired or not, I’m still flattered you’ve come all this way for me.”

I couldn’t fight the curl of my lip, nor did I try to. “Once an Asp, always an Asp.”

“I’ve changed, Robin,” Seraphine said, whilst watching Rafaela with a wary eye. “Out of the kindness we are attempting to adopt, I can offer you all a full belly and a warm bed for the night. Then you can be on your way, taking your burdens with you.”

“Respectfully, we have not come all this way for you not to listen,” Duncan added.

“Human, perhaps you need me to repeat myself. As I have already said, you are each welcome to stay in our home, but you will leave come morning.”

“Name your price,” I spat, nails slicing into my palms.

Seraphine slapped her palms across her thighs and spat on the floor between us. “Do not bring the chaos that follows you to our door.”

“You know why we are here, and you are scared, understandably,” Duncan said, stepping away from our line, closer to the assassin queen. I was certain I heard the rumble of thunder far beyond the thick stone walls, but no one else seemed to notice. “We are all frightened. The least you can do is hear us out.”

“I already know what has brought you here. Old habits die hard,” Seraphine replied, unable to hide her smirk. “We may have retired from our former duties, but we are not stupid enough to close our eyes and ears to what is happening around us.”

The sinking feeling of realisation itched at my skin.

“So then, how many of you stayed behind to spy on us?” I asked.

“Enough to know what happened to Gabrial. So, have you come to lay blame on us for her death?”

I scolded myself for not noticing. How had I been so blind to trust that Seraphine would have withdrawn all her assassins when she had left for Imeria? Regardless of if she still revoked her former duties, they were ingrained into her blood just like this place was for me. “Well, are you to blame?”

“Of course not,” Seraphine shouted, evidently offended by the suggestion.

“Care to touch my hammer, so I can seek the truth of that?” Rafaela said.

“We both know that isn’t required, Nephilim.”

I fought the urge to take my attention off Seraphine and indulge myself in studying the room I stood in. A place my mother would have once walked. I blinked and could almost see her, in my mind’s eye, sitting upon the throne in Seraphine’s place.

A brown sheet fluttered on the wall behind the throne. Now and then, I would see behind it, to the smashed glass window that Seraphine had attempted to cover. There was no hiding how the material caught on the jagged shards of glass that still clung to the frame, ripping holes that hinted at the grey-covered sky beyond the castle.

I didn’t need to ask to know that this destruction was caused by the gryvern when Doran sent them to kill my mother. From the small glances I allowed myself on the walk to the throne room, it was clear the window behind the throne wasn’t the only sign that a struggle had infiltrated this place. It scarred the walls, floors and pillars. Marks made from claws. Old stains splattered against walls, even the air was kissed with the memory of death.

Sensing my discomfort, a hand slipped into mine, drawing me out of my imagination. I followed the gloved hand up to the person it belonged to. Duncan’s concern was palpable across his handsome face.

One squeeze from his fingers was enough to refocus me. “I’m here.”

I forced a smile whilst the Nephilim and assassin entered a silent battle.

“Seraphine, if you know, then let us skip this part and get to what we’ve come here to uncover,” I said, confidence borrowed from Duncan’s steel gaze and firm touch.

“Your question would be wasted–”

“Who killed her?” Rafaela growled, slamming the butt of her weapon against the floor, cracking stone.

The sound rippled across the room, encasing us all in the tension that seemed to have grown thicker since we arrived.

“Unfortunately,” Seraphine replied, narrowed eyes scanning the group. “I cannot provide the solace you require, Nephilim. The murderer of your companion is unknown to us, we only know it happened. The person who took that girl’s life is skilled at hiding from shadows. But I’m aware you believe Aldrick is behind it, and I think we can all agree that he is.”

“That’s not good enough.” The room shook as Rafaela stomped her foot down. Dust rained down from the vaulted ceiling, coating our hair and shoulders like snow.

Seraphine stood, then walked carefully down the cracked, worn steps until she was level with the three of us. It was the first time I’d seen her dressed in such luxurious clothing. Naturally, my eyes scanned her strong limbs for weapons, yet I couldn’t see even the hint of any upon her.

This wasn’t the assassin I had come to know. As Seraphine suggested, it seemed she truly had shed that skin.

“Gabrial was killed because of what she could provide you in the war to come. Her insight into Aldrick was invaluable, and whoever murdered her knew that. Which means you are once again blind to his movements and decisions. However, Gabrial isn’t the only one with the ability to see doings at such great distances… is she, Robin?”

“No, Seraphine. She isn’t.”

“So, go on then, spit it out,” Seraphine sighed, rolling her eyes as she looked back at me. “Ask me what it is you came all this way for.”

I swallowed down my concerns, knowing Seraphine would sense even the smallest hint of trepidation. If I needed to convince her to extend her aid, I had to do so with confidence.

“Have your people retreated from Elmdew, or do you keep them there as a fail-safe as well?” I asked, smiling as the reaction that passed over her face confirmed what I needed to know.

“Aldrick brainwashed, used and ultimately caused the death of my sister,” Seraphine spat. “She does not have the luxury of retiring alongside me, to experience the life which we dreamed of as children. I’d be a fool to completely withdraw my players from this game, Robin. Of course, I have my people in Elmdew just as I have them in Oakstorm and Cedarfall. I may have hung my daggers away, but I am still cautious – I know that the fight is not over.”

“Then help us,” I pleaded. “If not by locating the person behind Gabrial and possibly Lucari’s death, but also by stopping Aldrick. Send a command to the Asps you have in the courts and ask them to guard the keys. Guard us , protect us. We started this together. Let us finish it as one.”

“It will take more than that to convince me.”

Duncan’s skin crackled with lightning. It hissed in the air around him as he spoke. “Not all of us have the indulgence of hiding behind stone walls.”

“Hiding?” Seraphine barked a laugh, twisting the skirts of her emerald silk dress as she turned back to the throne. For a moment, I wondered who that dress had belonged to before. Had Seraphine raided my mother’s belongings, or had they already been pillaged by thieves in the years the court was left unprotected? “We’re not hiding. We are enjoying the retirement your king offered us.”

“And you can still have it,” I snapped. “But what good is living a life of peace if the world beyond is in chaos.”

Seraphine sighed, flicking dark hair over her shoulder. “Has anyone ever taught you the importance of grovelling when asking for a favour? Insulting me will not provide you with the answer you have travelled all this way for.”

“Then what will?” Rafaela asked above the rustling of her feathers. “Name your price.”

“That is not something you can afford,” she replied. “Let alone Robin.”

“Name it, give me the chance, and I will find a way–”

“Robin, enough!” Duncan snapped, blue light flashing in lines across his skin. “You have sacrificed more than you have needed. I’ll not see you part with anything else to the likes of these scum.”

“Listen to your keeper, Robin.” Seraphine leered, now sitting back on the throne. My throne. The one my mother had sat upon when this castle was more than empty rooms and scars of destruction across every place I looked.

“You are frightened,” Rafaela said, her smile terrifying. “There is no shame in that. You should be.”

“Don’t speak on my behalf–”

A sudden flash of golden light glowed across Seraphine’s face. The hue smoothed out the snarl that had set across it, Seraphine’s eyes fixating on the cause of the light, which was held in Rafaela’s two firm hands, levelled between them.

The hammer. It was pointed toward the assassin, exuding a warm power that seemed to have some hold over Seraphine. The creases around the assassin’s eyes melted away, and the black of her pupils grew in size within her eyes.

“You fear for the chosen family that you have filled this empty castle with,” Rafaela said as she drew out Seraphine’s truth. “Already you know grief, as do I. And you, like the rest of us, will do anything to protect those around you. But I will show you what will become of this world if you do not help. All your wishes will mean nothing…”

I watched in awe as Seraphine’s disregard crumbled, and she wept. Her eyes filled with tears that fell freely down her face. Her lips were moving, repeating a word that I could not hear. The strange, enforced trance lasted only a moment. Rafaela retracted the hammer and slammed the head into the floor at her feet. The glow dissipated, returning the room back to its ominous hue.

Seraphine leaned forward, gaze fixed on the floor. Her chest rose and fell dramatically as though each breath was not enough to sustain her.

“What did you do?” I asked, looking sidelong at Rafaela, who seemed to wait for something further to happen. Seraphine was hunched, trying to catch her breath as wide eyes loosed tears in a never-ending stream down her paled face.

“I simply showed her what my hammer can. The truth. I gave Seraphine a glimpse into the future, one that her lack of help with ensure.”

“A vision?” Duncan asked.

“Yes.” Rafaela nodded. “One of destruction.”

Seraphine slowly lifted herself up, although the weight of what she’d witnessed still bore down on her. Her wide, unblinking eyes overflowed with horror as her tears continued to spill without sign of stopping. Yet, when she spoke, it was nothing but the voice of the assassin I’d come to know. “I’ll help you claim the answers you seek.”

My breath hitched in my throat, surprised at just how quickly these tides had changed.

“Thank you,” Rafaela replied, bowing her head, lowering her strange weapon back to her side.

I looked between them all. Duncan was stoic, clearly struggling with what he’d just witnessed.

Seraphine levelled her eyes with mine, locking me in place.

“Robin Icethorn, we will find the perpetrator who murdered your allies. But understand, when the answers you seek are not what you wish to hear, do not return to my home again. As Rafaela here understands, the truth is not always what we wish to know.”

“And… what of my other requests?”

“It will take some days to get answers back from Elmdew. In regards to protecting the Oakstorm and Cedarfall queens, I will make that request of any remaining Asps who’ve yet to vacate those courts. They will stay back and keep a close eye on those you wish to protect, until this hell is over.”

It was my turn to bow, overcome with gratitude but being careful just how much I showed. There was a weakness in relying on others, but a strength, too. I just hoped it was worth it.

“Thank you, Seraphine. I am truly sorry I have had to bring this to your door again.”

Getting information from Elmdew, and knowledge into what happened to Gabrial, was only the beginning of what I came here for. But knowing Elinor and Lyra would have the added protection of the Asps and Nephilim shielding them when returning to their courts made everything worth it.

It was a risk coming to Imeria, but it had paid off by the skin of my teeth.

Without Rafaela, I fear I’d not have been so successful.

Regardless of our success, I couldn’t sleep. The little rest I had fallen into was riddled with Jesibel once again. It always felt so real. The dreams more tangible as time passed on. I was left to stare up at the darkened ceiling, trying to shake the discomfort from the dream I’d just woken from. I still sensed Jesibel’s fingers rifling through my head. Picking at visions, one at a time. Gabrial, Seraphine, Imeria Castle. It was as though she wished to haunt me, punishing me for failing her by making me relive everything terrible that had happened.

Sleep had joined my growing list of enemies. I couldn’t face closing my eyes again for fear of what I would find.

Duncan’s broad back faced me. The moment his head hit the worn, dust-ridden pillow, he’d fallen easily into the peace sleep offered. He’d not moved a muscle since.

I had busied myself with tracing my nails across his skin. Faint pink lines were left in my wake. I watched as they faded within seconds before my eyes. At least those marks did. The other scars that littered Duncan’s body would never be scrubbed away.

I thought of Gabrial and the words that stained her skin, telling stories of others, whereas these marks, the ones that crisscrossed in silver, puckered lines, told of Duncan’s story. The pain he was subjected to during his time as a Hunter. Each etching was a symbol of his defiance. Some were not as pronounced as others. Across his right shoulder blade was a thicker, angrier scar that bumped beneath my finger as I ran over it. I drew my hand away as though it had burned me like fire.

Unlike the other scars, this one was a memory of the pain. Pain I’d caused him. What his ultimate defiance, falling in love with a fey, had resulted in. Even if I vowed to make sure he’d never face suffering at my hands again, I couldn’t shake the knowledge that everyone around me was at risk.

And yet, selfishly, I wouldn’t send him away.

I rolled over, ignoring the exhaled moan of Duncan who, somewhere in his subconscious, recognised the withdrawal of my touch. Unable to subject myself to my traitorous thoughts a moment longer, I swung my legs off the bed and stood up.

Beyond the narrow, long windows was a sky blanketed in the darkest of black. Thin wisps of cloud passed across the moon that looked hauntingly large this far up in Imeria Castle. It cast its ivory glow into the room, bathing everything around me in an ethereal glow.

I wondered what this room had once been used for. Who dwelled in it? It was far too small to be used as a chamber room. I imagined it was well-suited for a storage room, but I couldn’t be sure.

Wherever I looked, questions haunted me, forever unanswered.

I snatched the cream tunic from the bundle I’d left on the floor. Pulling it back over my head, I didn’t bother to work the ties around the neck. Instead, I left them loose to allow the kiss of chilled winds to devour my skin and wash the sticky sense of exhaustion that laced it.

Once I was dressed, I padded across the cracked, slabbed floor to the door. I clung to the aged wood that creaked as it swung open. Glancing back at Duncan, who still hadn’t stirred awake, I gave myself two options.

Crawl back into the warmth he provided to the thin sheets, or wander through Imeria in search of the ghosts and memories that would make me feel something for this place.

I pulled the door closed behind me, shutting away the easier of the two options. I picked the latter and left Duncan alone.

Imeria Castle was a maze of empty rooms, narrow corridors with ceilings hidden by shadow and grand, glassless windows. Beyond them was a view of the Icethorn Court, which stretched like a patchwork of white, grey and silver for as far as the eye could see.

My thighs burned as I paced up endless stairs and down hallways that led to more hallways with closed doors on either side. The light grey carpet runner provided my bare feet with some warmth. Like most of the castle’s aged decor, it was ripped and frayed.

I steadied myself by placing a hand on the wall. My fingers trailed over marks and scars as I dragged my touch along it. I didn’t take long to see hints of the battle that’d been waged here. The slaughter of the family I’d never know. I saw three equally long scratch marks gouged deep into the stone, snatching my hand away as a bout of sickness uncoiled in my stomach.

Bannisters had snapped, exposing sharp splinters of wood that gave way to a great fall to a landing beneath the curved stairway. In some places, I had to take care not to walk over shards of glass hidden beneath flurries of snow let in from the destroyed windows.

Time had not been kind to Imeria, just as the gryvern hadn’t been when they came and turned this place into what it was now.

A graveyard for my family. A place where the Icethorns should’ve all perished.

I would’ve thought I’d feel closer to my mother, walking on the same floor she had once walked. Treading in the same places she had. Occupying rooms where she had lived a life. But the truth couldn’t have been more opposite.

I kept going, losing myself from the room I’d left Duncan in. I paid no mind to how I would make my way back to him. Somehow, I knew I would find him in this place or another. My main desire right now was fresh air, a place outside of the suffocating depression that hung in the air around me.

Reaching the top landing of yet another staircase guarded by towering walls covered with crooked, empty, gilded frames, I was greeted with a rush of wind that pushed the hair from my forehead. It was just what I needed.

Ahead of me was an arched doorway that led out to the exterior of the castle. Two doors clung to the wall for dear life. It was a wonder the hinges hadn’t given way as they looked moments from falling to the floor completely.

Outside was some sort of grand balcony overlooking the Icethorn Court. I walked toward it, noticing the outline of a person sitting perched over the low stone wall that circled the balcony. Twin dove-grey wings fluttered in the winds, a golden hammer leant up against the wall.

So, Rafaela couldn’t sleep either.

I walked cautiously behind her. I didn’t wish to surprise her for fear she might fall over the stone wall she sat on, so I cleared my throat and announced my presence.

“Do Nephilim need to sleep?” I asked.

“We do,” Rafaela said, all without looking back at me. “And what about fey kings, do you require rest or are you above that?”

“Good question,” I replied. “Can I join you so I can unpack the answer?”

“This is your home; it would be rude of me to decline.” Rafaela glanced over her shoulder briefly before returning her gaze to the stretching view. Before I could remind her that Imeria no longer belonged to me, she spoke again. “Your realm is beautiful, Robin. I keep looking, thinking I’m going to find the end on either side, but it seems to never stop.”

“Your homelands must be beautiful, too,” I said, really wanting to divert the topic from me and Imeria, or my responsibilities. “Do you miss it?”

“The Isles of Irobel are impressive, likely more so if you ever saw them. Collections of islands, small and large, scattered across the ocean. But the view is nothing like this. If you climb the tallest tower erected in my lands, you can see only sea glittering in the distance on all sides. Irobel has a beginning and an end. But Wychwood feels other. It is… grand. I suppose because I have never felt so small before.”

“The world is a big place,” I replied, unable to ignore how vulnerable she was being with me. It tugged at my heart, making the lump in my throat grow. “Your presence has proved that.”

“Knowing just how big it is simply adds to the pressure of keeping the realms, and everyone in it, safe from imposing danger.”

“A feeling we both share.”

Rafaela’s wing shifted slightly, giving me room to stand at her side. I was aware as she fanned her wing back out behind me, concealing the view of the castle. It was like having a great shield at my back. Which, in some sense, was exactly what Rafaela was. I only wished someone had been able to shield Gabrial from what happened to her.

“We will find out who was responsible for Gabrial’s murder,” I said, finding the need to promise again. “I swear it.”

A sad smile crested over Rafaela’s face. “You didn’t get the chance to know her well, but Gabrial was the most excited of us to finally leave our home and explore what was to offer beyond it. And yet she was hardly given the chance to experience any of it. A world she treasured unconditionally. A place she didn’t know, a place she had only dreamt of, and yet she would have given her life to protecting it.”

My throat scratched as though full of sand. I gripped the stone wall as if the wave of Rafaela’s grief had the power to take my legs out from beneath me.

“I wish there was something I could say to ease your pain.”

Rafaela lifted her chin and kept her stare fixated on the furthest points she could see. Her voice didn’t tremble when she spoke, nor did her eyes fill with tears. There was strength in her sadness, a peace that I marvelled at.

“Gabrial is with the Creator now. Knowing that gives me a sense of peace.” The hint of a growl worked into her voice. “However, when my hammer crushes the skull of the being that killed her, that will also help alleviate some of this pain I find lingering inside of me.”

I expelled an awkward laugh, unable to shield myself from the brutal honesty of her threat. “If anyone can find the being behind the attack, it will be Seraphine. Although there is something I feel as though I should share.”

“What would that be, Robin?”

“I don’t wish to tell you what will or will not help your grief, but I have searched for revenge and the bliss I believed it would gift me. But that wasn’t what I found when I went looking. The promising allure of revenge is a lie. It does nothing to help the pain.”

As I spoke, I remembered James Campbell. I thought of his shattered remains smashed across the ale-slick floor of the pub. Then of Doran, whose body slipped beneath the water as Elinor killed him. I hadn’t recognised any peace on her face afterwards.

“What I’m trying to say is death is not always the answer,” I added.

“You are right, Robin; it is not always the answer, but sometimes it is. That is my purpose as the Creator’s hammer. He made me a warrior of his image and gave me the responsibility to punish those who require it. Just as you didn’t ask for the power that Altar gave upon your bloodline, I did not ask for this. But I at least accepted it without question. I claimed it. Aldrick will not be the only one to fall beneath my truth.”

“When does it end?” I asked. “What waits for you when the world has been cleansed of its threats, and you face freedom?”

Rafaela shrugged, lips twitching as she regarded my question. “That all depends on the Creator’s will.”

“That hardly sounds like freedom.”

“Living in one’s truth is freedom, Robin. A lesson you have recently learned. I, too, discovered my truth many years ago when I was born with a different name in a body that did not match the beauty of my soul. I am who I am because of choosing myself. Freedom is a concept I know well, in every sense of the word.”

My breath clouded before me, matching the frigid air in defiance. “Then I hope we give the rest of the realms the same chance to experience the beauty of such a thing.”

Rafaela offered me a smile. “As do I.”

Something moved in my peripheral, just behind the top of Rafaela’s head. She noticed my gaze shift and turned to look behind her to see what I had seen. Before I could follow, it was gone.

“I think that’s my sign to return to bed and force myself to sleep,” I said, patting the stone wall before making a move to leave. “I’m so exhausted that I’m seeing things. Rafaela, try to get some rest, too. Please.”

“That is not exactly an enticing concept. Your beds aren’t designed for bodies like mine.” Rafaela threw out her wings. The thick carpet of feathers across them flickered as the breeze whipped at them. “Rest will come once Aldrick is dealt with.”

“Good point, but–” I swallowed my words as a sound echoed across the barren landscape surrounding the castle. Rafaela’s head snapped, looking out over the dark, searching for something.

The noise was like that of thunder. I expected to see the flash of blue-white light spear across the skies. A shiver passed across my arms, sending each individual hair to stand.

“Get inside,” Rafaela said quietly, hunting the dark for the cause of her sudden panic.

“What is it?”

Rafaela’s wings pounded with one fell swoop, and she was up, standing balanced upon the stone wall she had been sitting on. She reached down, plucked the hammer from its resting place, and clenched it in both hands. “Robin, do as I say. Go.”

That’s when the sound came again. This time it was louder. Closer.

Three dark shapes cut across the night sky, blending in with it seamlessly. If it wasn’t for the moon refracting its light across Imeria’s surface, I don’t think I’d have ever made them out. Beasts. No, monsters, flew toward us.

“If you’re not going to run, Robin...” Rafaela bellowed, wings already beating, feet lifting from the ground. “Then you must fight with everything you have in you.”

It took little time for the creatures to cover ground and grow closer. I stood, rooted to the spot as the demonic monster I had last seen flying across our ship days ago hurtled in our direction.

It was the Draeic. Except this time, it wasn’t alone.